End It All
by ACID35
Summary: Starfox and his team are thrown into a world where their equipment, electronics, and majority of weapons are no longer working. The entire galaxy has gone dark, and now they are forced to survive in this new, harsh world. Narrative is M (gore, violence, mature themes, etc.), and no character is safe. This is the first installment of this series, updated regularly.
1. 1 - End It All

"Do you really love her, Fox?" He whispered into Fox's ear, his pistol resting on Fox's tattered shoulder, a smile across his face, "She's so beautiful isn't she?" He whispered again.

"Why are you doing this?" Fox replied weakly, trying to speak through the blood in his mouth, blinking his eyes hard as blood trickled through his dampened fur, as he looked on at her. Krystal, the blue vixen, she was tied up like him against a support beam, her eyes looking down at the ground – a defeated mercenary. Both of them defeated.

"Revenge, Fox, comes in surprisingly small doses…" The Reynard said again, walking over to the vixen's side. He looked back at Alex with his golden eyes, and rubbed the top of Krystal's head gently with the pistol's barrel.

"You keep your hands away from her." Fox said with what strength he had left, the Reynard smiled and raised his right hand, claws stretched out, and then with great slowness, the claws came down along Krystal's neck. Blood spilt, causing Fox to jerk against his metal bindings. He sat cross legged on the floor, a puddle forming from the leaking ceiling underneath him. Soaking into his cloth pants, mixing with the drips of blood which came from his chin and back. Krystal let out a scream as the claws dug deeper.

"Fox!" She shouted, trying to move away from the discomfort – this, of course, was in vain.

"Stop!" Fox shouted, working against his bindings.

"Revenge, comes in small doses…" The Reynard continued, as his claws dug deeper into red flesh. Krystal let out a scream which echoed of the dirty concrete walls, "But it starts to add up Fox." Krystal's eyes began to glow, it brightened Fox's eyes.

_Yes, _he thought, _get into his mind Krystal, you can do it. _Fox waited for the torture to stop, for the grey furred Reynard to stop in his tracks. But it never stopped, he just let out a coy smile as his claws dug deeper and, eventually, pulled with them the greater part of Krystal's shoulder. She let out a terrible scream, as blood ebbed forth, as Fox could only stand in horror at the sight. Krystal's body began to shake, and the Reynard simply stared at Fox, his eyes calm.

"You thought you could live in this world, Fox? You thought you and your mercenaries could come into my land, kill my people, and just walk away?" The Reynard turned his eyes to Krystal, coming down on one knee as he stared at her, "She is beautiful, isn't she? Would make some prize…"

"What do you want, just tell me what the hell it is you want?!" Fox shouted, his bindings now cutting into his wrists.

The Reynard smiled, "Nothing, Fox, and that's what makes this terrible for you." He raised his pistol to Krystal's head, he pulled that hammer back. Fox's eyes widened, and stared on as the hammer fell. Laser flashed from the muzzle, into flesh, and Krystal went limp. Leaving Fox alone in this great new world, leaving him wanting for it all to end.


	2. 2 - Finding A Home

Part 2 – Finding A Home

Falco let out a horrible gasp and grabbed onto his side. He could not remember what had happened, even as he looked at his surroundings. He sat on a worn bed, in a building without electricity. Luckily, there was a fireplace lit, and sunlight pouring through an empty window – both working together to light Falco's rather restrictive corridor. He was bandaged, though that term must be used lightly – for his bandages were little more than tattered pieces of cloth. Still, it appeared that someone had taken great care of him. He looked around his room a little more closely, and spotted resting on the floor a backpack along with a rifle. Not Falco's own, in fact, Falco's supplies were nowhere to be found.

Then, there came a knock on the door, Falco tried to stand from his bed, but found it impossible. The door opened, and Falco had no choice but to lay patiently for whoever might enter. To his surprise, it was a white furred vixen came through.

"God, you're awake!" She said ecstatically, "My father will be so happy." The vixen walked over to Falco's side, stretching out her hand as if to check up on him. In reaction, Falco immediately blocked her advanced with a waving hand, causing the vixen to laugh softly.

"Who are you?" Falco said defensively, keeping his eye on the doorway, "You realize you moved a licensed mercenary, right? Without his permission?" The vixen laughed at Falco's warnings.

"Right…" She said with a slow nod, "My father said you might be like this… considering all things. I'm Amy, by the way." She said with a salute, "Nice to meet you. Were you part of the UGA?"

"What the hell is the UGA?" Falco said with the grunt, trying to sit up, "Holy shit… what the hell happened?"

"You've been coming and out of it for about three months, we've been trying to get that wound healed up for you, but Dad said it was bad. Really bad, so it hasn't healed. We thought maybe the fever had gotten you, that you weren't going to wake up for good." Amy said, now moving over to the backpack and rifle. She picked up the rifle quickly and checked it. Falco looked at her with surprise.

"You know how to use that thing? How old are you, twelve?"

"Sixteen." Amy said defensively, "Dad says I can handle it."

"Your dad sounds like a swell guy…" Falco said, throwing his feet off the rickety bed he lay on, and then he tried to stand. The pain was like hell, his could feel the stitches in his side. Sloppy stitches, and with each step, they felt like they would pop. His legs were weak, he felt nauseous, he only made it a few steps before having to take a seat on a nearby chair, "What the hell happened to me…"

"We found you in a jet. It crashed sky with the rest of them. When everything went black." Amy's words were weak, she watched Falco with curiosity. It began to click then, Falco remembered it at once. His R-Wing, like the rest of his squad, had shut off without any kind of warning. It just fell out of the sky. He did his best to stabilize the fall, his seat's ejection system failed.

"Everything went dark?" He asked Amy curiously.

"Yeah, everything. One day the lights were working, then it all just didn't." Amy said as she looked out the window, "The world is scarier now… but Dad says we'll make it." Falco wasn't sure what to say, he had many questions – but he knew Amy would not know any of them. She, like him, was in the dark. Afraid of what would come. There was a knock on the door, loud and invasive.

"Amy, we need to get more water!" The voice shouted, opening the door shortly thereafter. Falco looked up, surprised to find standing in front of him a large, grey furred Reynard. His eyes golden, a smile resting across his face, "Well, look who finally woke up!" He said with a laugh.

"Pleasure…" Falco said weakly.

"Yes, yes it is." The Reynard walked over to Falco and extended his hand, "What's your name?"

"Falco."

"Falco, eh? Mine is Benton." The Reynard said, still smiling, "Welcome to your new home." Falco shook Benton's hand with some uncertainty.

"New home, huh?" Falco said, now making another attempt to stand. This time was easier, his body seeming to gain some composure over itself.

"Yes sir. A new world. I run the area we're in now, you know, and your friends are more than welcome to stay here." Benton said, walking over to a table in Falco's room, there rested several instant meals on it, "Hungry?"

"Friends?" Falco said curiously.

"Sure, you know that cat thing and your toad friend, right? They weren't too far from your crash site. They're here, with you." Benton said nodding slowly, "They work out in the fields with me, gathering what we can. There good to have, considering there background. Weird looking creatures though… like you…"

"Were there two vulpine with them. A vixen and a Reynard. One has orange fur, the other blue…" Falco said eagerly, Benton shook his head.

"Sorry son, can't say I saw them." Benton turned to him, and something in his smile unnerved Falco. Perhaps it was only his current state, perhaps he needed rest. He nodded slowly, "I'm sorry. Would you like to see the others, at least?"

"They're here now?" Falco said.

"Just outside, waiting on me. Shall we go, can you walk?" Benton asked, Falco nodded, and the two made their way outside the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Falco!" Amy said with a wave, and Falco waved back, making his way outside the door slowly. What he found was nothing short of shocking. It was as if the world had stopped turning. Foliage was overgrown, vehicles rested on the streets, burnt, destroyed, or simply stalled. The buildings which made up the small town appeared as though they had been through a warzone. The only thing which appeared halfway descent was a camp resting in the town's park area, and there, Falco spotted both Katt and Slippy standing next to three reynards. As soon as they saw Falco, Katt let out a shout and rushed towards him. Falco raised his arms with a smile on his face, and the two embraced.

"I thought you were never going to wake up…" She said with a quaking voice.

"I'm alright…" Falco replied gently, "I'm ok." They let one another go and Katt looked to Benton.

"We found this group a couple days after the crash, or they found us. They've taken us in, we're working together to survive." Katt said. Falco looked back in confusion.

"Survive what?" He asked, looking to Slippy, "How's it going?"

"Eh…" Slippy said with a half smile, "It was better when you were asleep." The two laughed.

"Falco." Katt said, causing Falco to look back at her.

"Sorry…"

"It's fine, but listen, you need to understand, the world is nothing like we knew it. Alright? I don't know what happened, but it's like the entire galaxy has gone dark. There are these things now, it's like they were waiting for this to happen. We have to fight them off, keep them at bay…"

"The Feral." Benton said plainly, walking up to the group, "There's a lot you've missed birdy. You've got to sleep through the hardest of it. But let's make it plain what's happening here. You're world, what you knew before, is gone. These creatures pour out of caves and tunnels like rats, they destroy everything. We work together to survive, or we all die." Benton said, looking to the rest of the group, then back to Falco, "We have roughly fifty people here, we have a chance to find more if we're careful."

"We survive." Falco said with a nod. Looking to Katt and Slippy, "Thanks for taking us in."

"Are you kidding me? I should be thanking you, having mercenaries with us? Heh, I'm the lucky one…" Benton threw a rifle over his shoulder, "So, let's get to surviving."


	3. 3 - Skeletons

Part 3 – Skeletons

Fox wept for longer than he could remember, till his face was sore. Till his stomach was cramping and his eyes ran dry. But even after the crying stopped, Fox could not leave that place of darkness. The body still laid in front of him. Her body, dead and lifeless, with a face barely recognizable now. Fox could not stare at it directly, and so made sure to keep his face to the floor. It didn't matter if he rotted away in this place now, it didn't matter if he died with her. He was ready for it, but he knew things would not come easy. As he sat in the dank smelling basement, he knew his captures would let him rot down here for a long time.

Fox heard the basement door open. There was loud sounds of struggle, the dark and steady of voice of Benton trailing down the basement steps, "Now what we have here, is a simple holding cell, see?" Benton said calmly, "Just a holding cell for those who need to learn," Benton paused for a moment as he reached the basement, Fox was tied in such a manner that his back faced away from the steps, but he could tell Benton was not alone, "Some fellow inmates for you, Fox." Benton said calmly, walking along with several other pair of steps.

"My God…" An older, familiar voice said, Fox recognized it at once, he turned his head – ears perking at the site of his old mentor, Peppy. Though Peppy, like himself, had received the worse end of Benton. His face was bruised, swelled up like a balloon. There was no fight in him, Benton sat him down slowly next to Fox, and threw on his restraints. There was another vulpine brought down as well, being tied up next to Krystal's corpse by vulpine Fox could not recognize. But Fox made no attempt to argue, no attempt to fight back. He simply sat where he was, and didn't make a sound, "What have you done Benton…" Peppy said weakly, looking at Krystal, "She hadn't done anything wrong…"

"It's not about who did what right, Peppy. It's about people understanding their place. You see Fox now, that hotshot who kept giving me the wrong end of his boot?" Benton said, pointing Fox, "He's a broken horse now, broken in by me." Benton kneeled down in front of Fox, looking at him – but Fox did not return the gaze, "That's what matters, you both go on yapping about what's right and what's wrong… her the most." Benton pointed to Krystal's corpse, then stood up with a sigh, "I can't have that."

"Morals? You can't have people holding you accountable?" Peppy shot back.

"Funny, coming from a goddamn mercenary. It doesn't matter anyway…" Benton walked past the captives, his crew following behind him, "You all can rot down here, Fox. Enjoy the smells…" Benton walked out of the basement, the door slamming behind him. The room went silent, Fox never taking his eyes off the floor. He didn't shake, didn't say a word, he just stared.

"Fox?" Peppy said, looking through swollen eyes. He didn't reply, Peppy then turned to the other vulpine resting with them, "What's your name, son?"

"Uh, Charles." The black furred vulpine said with a nod, he looked over to Krystal's corpse, then to Fox, "I-I'm sorry about this…"

"We all are." Peppy said, with a slow nod.

"What did you guys do to piss him off?" Charles said, looking towards the stairs.

"We caught him and his scouting party killing folks outside his camp, a dispute over supplies I think. Benton is a man who likes the play the part of morality, but he doesn't follow it. Not when it inconveniences him." Peppy looked back to Fox, "We did our best to fight him off, but it was only us three against however many he had. Even with Fox's training, we didn't get far… so this happened. Tortured, murdered, left to die…" Peppy shook his head, "I thought I had seen some ugly things in my line of work… I really did."

"Yeah, Benton can have that effect on you. Alright look then, look. I know things are rough, but maybe we can get out of here. Maybe we can escape." Charles said, now working against his bindings, disappointed to find them made of nano fiber material – bindings meant not to break.

"We could try, Charles. But I'm not sure what our chances would be, once we get out of this cellar." Peppy sat back and looked at Fox, "We'll be needing your help Fox, to get out." Charles looked to Fox as well, but there was no answer, just dead silence as he sat limp. Before anyone said anything else, a roaring came from outside, followed by the shouts of Benton's men.

"Is that them?" Charles asked, attempting to look through one of the cellar's windows.

"It could be…" Peppy looked to Fox again, "We don't have much time, Fox. If you want to die down here, truly die down here, and let that twisted reynard go; then I'll leave you here, I'll do that. But if you have even an ounce left in you that wants to fight, that wants to see that man bleed – you had better let me know before we're gone and out there." The roaring got louder, Charles continued to fight against his bindings, but it made little difference. The bindings would not break, no matter how greatly Charles fought against them.

"We need to go now! If those things catch wind of the blood down here, we'll be eaten alive." Charles said, looking to Fox, "So is he coming or not?" Peppy looked steady at Fox, who finally raised his head. Peppy gave a nod,

"That's good enough for me right now. Charles, Krystal will have in her belt a small torch cutter. It will go right through your bindings, once you've cut yourself loose, just toss it our way – you can wait for us or run if you'd like. I know we owe you nothing." As Peppy spoke, Charles had already found the torch and worked his way through the bindings. He then walked over to Peppy and began to cut his.

"I'm not Benton." Charles said plainly, "I'd never do that." He walked over to Fox and cut his as well, then began to walk for the door. Peppy stood slowly, his body clearly fatigued from his recent beating. Fox, too, stood at an equally slow pace. The two walked for the door, but Fox stopped for a moment and turned, looking at Krystal one last time. Charles spotted the action, and when he heard the roars grow louder outside, he walked over to Fox.

"Look man, I know you loved her alright? But she's gone now, we've got to go. She's gone now." Charles said, looking at figures now sprinting past the basements windows. Fox didn't say anything, he simply turned and walked for the door. Leaving behind Krystal, and never looking back again.


	4. 4 - Feral

Part 4 – Feral

The Feral were creatures unlike anything Falco had seen before. His laser pistol, whose firepower had never disappointed him, went right through them, and they still ran into Benton's lines; tearing through their people, leaving Falco in shock. Five Feral were all that attacked, and five feral had already killed ten of Benton's camp.

"Get to the secondary campsite!" Benton shouted to his people, all of them firing blindly at the feral, several attempting to kill one with sticks and bats. Falco watched with his weapon raised, only to see two survivors have their chests ripped open by the creature's hardened claws.

"Falco!" Slippy shouted between the people running and gun fire, Falco turned to him, "We need to go!" Falco let out a nod, firing several more rounds at the feral, finally sending enough charges into one to bring it down. Once he got to Slippy's side, who now rested behind a broken down jet transport, he checked his weapon and let out a few quick breathes.

"Where's Katt?" Falco said.

"She's not with you?" Slippy asked, a little concerned.

"Shit…" Falco looked around, Benton's camp was larger than he anticipated. There were at least sixty strong running from the feral pack, and it caused utter chaos. Kits screamed as their mothers picked them up and fled. Katt was nowhere to be found, "I've got to find her."

"Falco, we have to go. There might be more!" Slippy peeked over the transport, his eyes widening as several more feral came out of the brush only a few feet off from the camp. He turned back to Falco.

"We can't stay with the group Slippy, even if we wanted to. They'll be killed by these things. We're going to have to hide, but only after I find her." Falco popped out of cover, and began to move towards the center of the camp – certain if Katt were looking for him, it would be there. Slippy had not lied, however, the Feral did indeed continue to come, and while their attention remained mostly on the larger fleeing group, some eyes turned to Falco. Wild eyes, with no remorse, no hint of mercy. Three Feral came at Falco who, with a steady hand, was able to drop two with his pistol. Right through their eyes, two even charges, dropping the rushing beasts with ease. But his hand was not quick enough for the third, whose jaws latched onto his arm with a vengeful bite. Falco let out a grunt as his armed snapped, and as he raised his pistol to the Feral's head, blowing it clean off. The jaws let go, and Falco continued to the camp's center – noting the sound of gunfire coming from it. A group of vulpine still remained there, hiding behind a makeshift barricade; with only a few attempting to keep back the ever increasing Feral pack. But one gunshot stuck out in Falco's mind, a distinct ring only found in the weapons Slippy manufactured – Katt's weapon. He rushed to the group, "Katt!" He yelled, firing off his weapon into a nearby Feral and throwing another, "Katt!"

"Falco?!" A voice shouted from behind the barricade. Falco was relieved to find her there, though her situation was far from safe. There were only seven survivors left among multitudes of bodies, including Katt. Falco continued to lay down as much suppressive fire as his pistol would allow, eventually making his way into the barricade. The shots were sloppy now, since he only fired with one good hand. The kick back of the weapon caused Falco's hand to grow sore, and as fatigue set in further and further – the less concerned he became about using his sites. Once there, Katt was quickly at his side.

"Thank god you're ok! But what the hell happened to your arm?"

"One of those things… just crushed it." Falco said, raising the quivering arm towards Katt's eyes. The break was gruesome, the feral's bite stronger than anticipated. The bones within his wrist had snapped and contorted with ease, and several pieces prodded out of skin and cloth. Katt looked at the wound with grimace, she knew what it would mean for Falco. They both did, and said no more about it.

"We're going to have to make some kind of pocket if we want to get out of here." Katt said looking back over the barricade. The Feral horde only grew with number as they waited, and this greatly unnerved the group.

"How many kits are in the group?" Falco asked, looking back to the survivors, most remained hidden, only a select few now fired along with Falco and Katt. Their steady barrages only barley keeping the horde at bay.

"We have two, neither are wounded." Katt replied, Falco nodded.

"Alright, alright. These things don't seem to smart, I can probably draw them off."

"Falco!" Katt hissed, "We can't break up now. It isn't safe!" Falco looked at her with a grin.

"Do I look like a regular civilian?" These were Falco's last words, without saying anything else, he rushed out of the fortification and began firing at the Feral pack. His shots were steady, his target now being each Feral's head or heart. It was precise, Falco would pull his trigger, and a high velocity round would penetrate its target. It wasn't long before the Feral began taking notice of Falco more and the survivors less, giving them a chance to flee – which they took. Katt looked to Falco only for a moment, but knew better than to waste his distraction. She led out the survivors quickly, she herself entering into a sprint once they were clear of the major debris. She left Falco behind, and had no choice but to trust him. All she could hear was the sound of his gunshots off in the distance, and then their eventual silence, as she and the survivors ran into the forest, crossing along dirt paths, across transports stopped in their tracks and buildings abandoned. They ran without ceasing, it was all Katt could do to keep the tears at bay.


	5. 5 - The Need to Survive

Part 5 – The Need to Survive

Peppy and Charles took the lead upon exiting the basement. It was clear that Fox would still need time to regain some of his old self. He moved slowly, even when running. Like a dead man. When they broke the locks holding the basement door shut, Peppy and Charles fell over each other into a street near Benton's camp, a street filling with Feral. As soon as Charles saw them, he sprung up from the ground, and signaled Peppy and Fox to follow him.

"I've never seen this many in one place!" He said in between nervous breathes. All of them ran towards a buildings side, as it provided descent cover to hide behind. But Fox was the slowest to get into hiding. His run slowed to a walk as he saw the dead along the ground, Peppy signaled for him to run with urgency. When he saw Peppy's signal, Fox's gate quickened some.

"Damnit, Fox. Do you really want to die that bad?" Peppy scowled, shaking his head. Fox made no reply, he simply slunk along the wall while Charles and Peppy looked at their surroundings.

"I don't really see which way the group went… So we'll just have to pick a way and take it."

"I suppose that's all we can do. But it would be smart to avoid the Feral if at all possible, right?" Peppy replied, looking over Charles' shoulder.

"Right, it looks like they're heading that way." Charles replied, pointing off into the west. As he did, the group began to hear the reports of a laser pistol, and then the sound of howling Feral behind it.

"We should get going." Peppy said with weary eyes, "I don't like the sound of that…"

"They could need our help." Charles replied looking to Peppy, "Maybe they're from the group."

"Then let them die…" Fox said plainly, lurching up from the wall and looking out towards the gunshot, "That's only one report, it's one person… let them die." The two others didn't say anything, they neither agreed nor disagreed. All three simply looked until they saw a figure pour into the main roadway. It was Falco, falling over himself as he continued to fire with his good arm. Grunting as he hoisted himself from the ground, and began running towards Fox and the others.

"My god… it's Falco!" Peppy said, looking to Fox, "Falco is alive, Fox!" At first, Fox looked with a kind of perplexity.

"Falco?" Fox said looking into the road, and when he saw the blue bird, there was no doubt in his mind who it was. Falco ran with an unrelenting gate, as the Feral pack which followed him continued to pour out from behind buildings and alleyways. Without a second word, Fox sprung out from his hiding spot, and began to wave Falco down, "This way!" He shouted, waving his arms. Falco noticed him, and after firing several more shots behind himself, he went into a full sprint towards Fox, who led Falco towards Charles and Peppy. Falco hit the side of the wall with great force, breathing heavy as a smile grew over his face.

"Holy shit… I guess I should've known you guys wouldn't die easy!" Falco looked around nodding, then looked to Charles, "Hey guy."

"Hey." Charles said, raising his hand.

"That is Charles, he helped us escape." Peppy said with an affirming nod. But before much else could be said, the sound of thundering Feral strides grew louder, and the group took off running down the alleyway which they hid. Through broken buildings and empty roads – Charles took the lead, since it was obvious he knew the place better than most others. It seemed like ages before they stopped hearing the howls behind them, and were able to enter into a more steady gate. Their running now had them entering into the city rather than away from it, walking along a sidewalk in remarkable silence.

"We should probably get off the main roads, and probably shouldn't go into the city any further." Charles said in between breathes.

"Why, are the cities contaminated or something?" Falco replied, looking at the large skyscrapers around them.

"No, most died in the cities, and the Feral don't like them too much. It's the people you have to watch out for." Charles answered, now stopping as they neared a bench, "This will be a good place to rest…"

"The people? So, there are people here, alive I mean?" Falco said, looking to Peppy, "Do you know anything about this world?"

Peppy nodded slowly, "It has been hard, since it all happened. Since the lights went out, electricity stopped, and that wave of… whatever it was, came."

"The wave killed so many. It knocked out all modern technology too." Charles looked to Falco's pistol, "So that thing you're holding right there is a relic now. People would kill you to get their hands on it."

"Would you?" Falco said playfully, but also in testing. Charles just shook his head.

"I'm not that kind of guy…"

"Falco, Charles has been good to us. We haven't had any issues so far. Like I said, he helped us escape." Peppy said, giving Charles an affirming nod.

"Yeah, you said that earlier. What the hell were you escaping from?" Falco spoke as he normally did, the pain from his arm only now beginning to resurface as his adrenaline began to wear off. He looked to Fox, who now sat on the bench looking away from the group, completely silent, "Yo Fox, what the hell man? I've never seen you keep this kind of silence before." Fox didn't answer Falco's playful words, causing Falco to look at Peppy with a confusion.

"He needs time, Falco. He's been through a lot."

"Yeah, like what? You see this arm? I've been through a lot too!" Falco said with a laugh, raising up the mangled appendage, as Peppy quickly rushed in to inspect the wound, Fox finally spoke.

"Krystal's dead." He said plainly, causing Falco to look up in shock.

"W-what?"

"She was shot in the head. Right in front of me, she's dead." Fox said, his words monotone, cold. Falco tried to speak, but found himself overwhelmed with shock as well. He looked to Peppy, hoping that maybe what Fox said wasn't true – but all Peppy did was nod as he looked at Falco's arm.

"I hate to say this Falco, but this arm… it's pretty far gone. We may need to…"

"Amputate, yeah, I already figured as much. I'm just holding onto a prayer before I have to bite the bullet. But, it sounds like from what you guys are saying, that there won't be any functioning hospitals to help me out with this one, huh?" Falco said, allowing Peppy to wrap the wound in some bandages he carried.

"Unless they managed to survive like your pistol there, I'd say no. But you might be able to find some manual machines still, and we probably should. You leave that wound for more than a day, it's going to fester bad. Feral bites are nasty." Charles said, pulling from his bag a paper map, "My one friend didn't make it from a Feral bite."

"Thanks for that, makes me feel a whole lot better." Falco replied, shaking he head as he walked over to Charles side, "So, we're going to need a place to amputate that's safe then, any ideas?" Falco asked, looking at Charles's map.

"Well, there's a hospital inside town. But… I don't know this town all that well." Charles said, shaking his head as he looked up from his map, "There's no telling what might be between there and us."

"We'll have to go, regardless. It doesn't matter what's there…" Fox said plainly, "Let's just get his arm taken care of." Fox began to walk towards the direction Charles was facing, and the group, unnerved, followed behind him. Charles eventually caught up with Fox, and the two walked in unison together. Fox acting more like eyes, and Charles simply guiding them through the maze of the broken city. It was amazing what only a few months had done to the once bustling metropolis. Plants were becoming overgrown, and the buildings looked as though they had been abandoned for ages. The streets were riddled with litter, abandoned vehicles, and drying corpses. Dead bodies which looked as though they had been cooked in an oven. They passed over them as the sun began to set, and as the group turned a corner towards the medical building – which could be seen plainly now.

"That's our stop." Charles said plainly, taking the lead as they neared the building, "Like I said, I don't know this place that well, so we'll have to be careful about what we…" Before Charles could finish, Fox began to notice shimmering under their steps, a shimmer he had grown all too familiar with in combat.

Mines.

At least fifty.

Fox looked to Charles, as his foot pressed on one, "CHARLES!" but Fox's shouts were too late. The earth ruptured from under him, and Charles' body was no more. Gone in a flash of light. A kind of old world mine which relied on fragmentation rather than radiation. His body was torn into several pieces, and the rest of the group froze. The star fox team knew better than to panic in a mine field.

"Shit! I thought he said this technology was broken!" Falco shouted looking around, "Some of the mines are exposed! But there could be hundreds more still buried…"

"Just relax alright? Your gun still works right, maybe these mines survived the blast, or whatever." Fox looked around, eyeing the pile of flesh next to him, breathing heavy, "Damnit."

"Well, well!" A voice shouted from a nearby alleyway, Fox looked to the direction and saw from the shadows a black furred Reynard appear. His face was scarred, and in his hands he carried a kind of rifle Fox had never seen before. Fox's team also took note of the building tops around them, where several other Reynard and vixen appeared, "Look what we have here. A couple of bandits?"

"We're no bandits." Falco said calmly, "Just a couple survivors with bad luck."

"I'd say…" The black furred Reynard replied, looking to the mangled corpse which was Charles, "Sorry about your friend there. Where you coming from anyway?"

"Did you plant this minefield?" Falco shouted back.

"I asked you a question first, bird. You answer it, I'll answer yours." The black Reynard said, "A good offer, considering I could kill all of you right here, right now."

"There's no need for that." Peppy interjected, raising his hands as he spoke, "We aren't here to hurt anyone, we're just trying to reach that hospital, right there." Peppy said, pointing to the hospital, "My friend is hurt, we need to amputate his arm." Peppy spoke calmly, and his words were genuine. The black Reynard seemed to recognize this, and looked to his group members in the buildings above.

"Well, you aren't going to make it far in that mine field, you'll have to come over to me." The black Reynard said, "I'm going to walk out towards you all, but before I do that, you're going to toss me your weapons." The Reynard said, his demeanor still calm. The Fox team looked at one another, and knew the drill. They were not helpless, and this was not the first time they had run into trouble this way. Falco slowly went for his pistol, and tossed it to the black Reynard, "Good, that's good, now the rest of you."

"We don't have any weapons, myself and my vulpine friend are unarmed." Peppy replied, and to his reply, the Reynard seemed complaint with.

"Alright then, I'm going out to you now, and then you'll follow me back." The black Reynard placed his rifle over his back, and walked out. He moved along the mine field, each step being precise and carefully measured. When he reached the group, the Reynard pointed to their feet, and very calmly talked them through their next steps, "Alright, you, bird, lift your right leg and position by my foot, I'll take a step back. The rabbit and Fox, you two see that little dirt trail right in front of you? Yes, that one, that's where you'll walk until you reach where I'm at, then, follow in a single file line behind me. Make sure you've got good distance between yourselves, unless you all want to be blown to hell by one person's mistake." Once the squad was situated, the Reynard turned, and the group moved back from the way he came, into the alleyway. But it was no longer just the Reynard there anymore, there waited two vixen, both armed with pistols (one with Falco's) waiting for them.

"Alright you three, if what you say is true. Then we aren't your enemy, and you aren't ours. But, you'll have to understand why both Olive and Gage are less inclined to lower their weapons."

"And what's your name?" Fox asked, eyeing the two vixen who had their weapons drawn. His trained eye told him this crew were not military – and not trained either. The subtle shake in each vixen's hand told that much. So, it eased his nerves knowing they were, in all likelihood truthful survivors.

"My name is Zion. I'm the current leader of what's left of Refugee camp one." Zion looked to the two vixen, "These two, and then two others."

"That's all that's left of an entire refugee camp? It's only been a few months." Falco said, in shock. Zion smiled at him and looked to the vixen.

"I guess you must have gotten the better of the last couple months then, bird. This world, all that's left, are the survivors. Nothing else. Now we should get going, before that arm of yours festers over." Zion spoke calmly as he motioned for the two vixen to lower their weapons. He let Fox's team walk in front of him, and they followed behind. Now working their way through a maze of buildings which, Fox hoped, would lead to the hospital, and not somewhere else.


	6. 6 - I Am No Monster

Chapter 6 – I Am No Monster

Katt breathed heavy, looking around to see if Falco was among those now gathering around Benton. But he was nowhere to be found, it set her heart racing. Only a few had found Benton, less than twenty to be exact , and Katt was one of them. She walked towards their gathering spot, Benton in the center eyeing those around him.

"Alright, everyone just come forward now. That's good, take a seat, let's see who is here. Good." Benton nodded slowly, muttering something under his breath as people continued to walk towards him, "Now, I know everyone is afraid, and I know you've probably lost people, but just sit down, and let's get through this." Benton let the people gather, then walked off to the side where a vixen waited against a tree. She was blue furred, much like Krystal, though her face was harder than hers – colder. As Benton walked over to her, Katt could not help but run up to Benton herself.

"Benton!" She shouted, causing Benton to turn immediately.

"Katt! I'm glad one of our mercenaries made it, that's good news." He said with an affirming nod, "You and Jade have not met formally have you?" He asked, pointing to the Vixen who gave a sickly smile.

"Pleasure…" She said, extending her hand, Katt took it, and was surprised by the grip strength of Jade. After their greeting, Katt turned back to Benton.

"So, what can I do you for?" Benton asked, his composure remarkably calm despite the heavy losses he had faced.

"Falco, he's gone missing. He was making a distraction for the people I came with, but he hasn't returned yet." Katt said, watching Benton slowly nod as she talked.

"Well, we all have lost somebody." Benton replied, looking over to the surviving group. Katt looked as well, noticing that Benton's daughter, Amy, rested with the group. Benton looked at her with sad eyes, then turned to Katt, "All of us lost some body…"

"No, you don't understand. Falco isn't dead, there's no way he would die that easy." Katt replied, looking to Jade and then Benton, "We need to go find him."

Benton laughed, "I'm sorry little lady, but that's just not possible. I've got a whole band of survivors here that need safety, not a suicide mission. My daughter among them, no less."

"It isn't a suicide mission, and Falco is not dead. He would be a huge help to your pack." Katt replied, pointing to the group, "How many of your strong hands have you lost today? How do plan on protecting these people, most of them have never held a weapon, let alone seen actual combat. How do you plan on protecting your daughter?" Katt knew it was a low blow, but she grew desperate. Benton's unwavering persona had set her on edge. He knew convincing him would not be easy.

"And you think one mercenary will make all the difference?" Jade asked, walking over to Katt, "I don't know who you _think _you are, or who you think that Falco is, but neither of them are worth risking our entire pack for."

"Was I talking to you?" Katt shot back, causing Jade to grab Katt's coat and throw her to the ground with force – that she Katt not only lost her breath, but grew dazed as well.

"You are now, bitch." Jade pulled out a pistol and locked its hammer back, "You see this? This is a powder weapon, which means it still fires. You know who you're talking to? You think just because you were a mercenary you get to order us around?"

"Easy, easy." Benton said, grabbing Jade's weapon and lowering it. He then turned to Katt and smiled, "Katt, I get it, you care about him a lot – you want to save him. But I've got bigger plans for us than that. We're going to the city, see? The city is one of the few places those things don't try to get into. We could be safe there, but it's going to take man power, it's going to take a team. Right now, everyone's so shaken up, there's no way I could afford what you're asking me. To be frank, I don't know how likely it is Falco made it, so I would encourage you to just leave it be." Katt let out a weak breath and slowly sat up. Her face was stern, and she looked at Benton with disappointment and anger.

"I can't do that, and I thought I could expect more from you, Benton." She hoped her words would strike some kind of guilt in Benton, but as far as she could tell, he remained indifferent. So Katt continued, "I hope your remember everything we've done for your pack. How much we did for your daughter!" Katt shouted, pointing to Amy, who now looked over to her father with some curiosity. Benton let out a sigh,

"That's not how this world works anymore, Katt. It's not about what I owe you – it's about what is smart. It was smart for you to stay with the pack, and it is still smart for you to stay with the pack. You go out there, you're going out there alone."

"Might not be a bad thing." Jade shot, looking to Katt for a reaction.

"Then I guess I'm going alone." Katt countered, turning from the two and walking back the way she came. Benton made no attempt to stop her, but rather turned to Jade to continue talking about their plans for moving towards the city. Katt only made out bits and pieces of what they said, but it didn't really matter to her anymore. Katt would be on her own now, and in a few minutes, she was. Katt now walked in the forests she had only sprinted through moments ago. Doing her best to move silently as she followed the trails she and the others had left behind. Unfortunately, stealth was not Katt's strong suit, and so her movement was loud. Twigs snapped underneath her, her bag jingled like a marching drum, even her breath gave her position away. But for the most part, Katt was blind to this, especially as she neared where her and Falco had parted ways. The direction he ran was easy enough to spot, since the Feral markings made a clear pathway among the nearby roads. Katt followed them back, her eyes solely focused on finding Falco. So focused, in fact, that she became all too unaware of her surroundings; of the clattering her bag made; of her own breathing. She didn't even notice the foot steps behind her, until there was a sudden and sharp pain alongside the back of her head. A shot which made her legs go limp, causing her to fall to the ground.

Someone jumped on top of her then, beginning to tear at her clothes, and all Katt could hope to do in her daze was fight back with lazy motions. She went for the attackers eyes, and she heard a scream as she barely was able to keep consciousness. Then a hard blow came across her chin. She felt her jaw crack, and everything went black. Complete silence, and Katt dreamed about Falco, and about whispering voices, one in particular she recognized –Slippy Toad, speaking with a great amount of fear.

"What are you going to do with her?" He asked nervously. Katt began to open her eyes, and immediately felt her jaw throbbing, she tried to move, but quickly realized she was bound to something behind herself. She was set up in such a manner that her body lay half sat up, and half laying down – and there was little room for her to adjust into any new positions.

"Whatever we like, toad, and if you know what is good for you, you'll keep out of it!" Another voice hissed. Katt looked out and noticed a fire in front of herself, she tried to speak – but found her jaw completely incapable of movement.

"Well, she's coming to now." A third voice cackled, it was the first Katt saw. Two lizard-like creatures rested in front of her, and in between them, Slippy sat. Katt tried to say his name, but found it impossible to speak.

"Does she know you?" The larger lizard asked Slippy.

"Uh, well yes, she does Malek…" Slippy replied, keeping his eyes off Katt.

"Enough to fight for, Slippy?" The smaller reptile replied, "Because we're about to do some bad things Slippy, and you're going to have to OK with that. If you don't want to die with her."

"Uh…" Slippy was shaking, and Katt's heart was racing. She was waiting for Slippy to say something, to do something. But he only shivered, and failed to speak.

"He isn't saying anything Vincent." Malek replied, "I think that means he's ok with it."

"I think so." Vincent agreed, a twisted smile forming on his face. Katt didn't make any more effort to speak, she would need to escape now. Before Vincent and Malek did whatever it was they intended to do. Slippy would be no help, Katt was sure of that. So it would come down to her bindings, on whether or not she could survive. She used a trick Falco had taught her long ago, a simple slip and snapping method. Thankfully, it worked, and subtly too. Malek and Vincent had not even noticed. They came forward slowly, menacingly, and Katt waited till they were only but a foot away. Then she struck, first to Vincent's groin, then she swung at Malek. But her balance was off, greatly off, due to her recent blows, and the strike missed. As Vincent collapsed to the ground in heavy breathing, Malek returned the blows, but in the adrenaline, found himself to slip along the wet surface beneath himself. Katt was able to move away, and begin some kind of sprint. All the while Slippy simply sat, completely frozen, terrified, and Malek chased Katt down.

She ran with every ounce of strength she had, working to fight the loss o equilibrium which plagued her. Then, her leg found loose wire, in the worst of moment; her ankle was snatched, causing her to plummet to the ground,

Her head slamming against a protruding rock,

and by the time Malek rushed to her, she was already motionless – her blood trickling along the grass, her eyes still wide open.

"Damnit!" Malek said, spitting at the corpse, "You stupid idiot… we might have let you live… dumb bitch." Malek turned to Vincent and Slippy, "She's dead!"

"Good!" Vincent shouted back, standing up and letting out a groan, "She might have damaged something, it burns like hell…" Vincent said, shaking his head, he looked to Slippy, who now began to cry, "My, we've got a true mercenary with us don't we?" Vincent laughed, "Come toad, we're getting out of here." He started to walk slowly towards Malek, leaving Slippy to his thoughts. Slippy hated himself, he wished it was him who had died, and not Katt. He wished Malek and Vincent would leave him behind, or kill him. He wished they showed him no quarter, as they had with everyone else.

"Is the toad coming?!" Malek shouted, pointing back to Slippy. Vincent let out a sigh and turned.

"Are you coming?" Vincent's words were cold, and Slippy could sense the hostility. He would have to stand, and keep following, because there was nowhere else for him to go. No way to survive on his own. He stood up, and walked past Katt's lifeless body, doing his best to pretend she meant little to him as he walked among the serpents.


	7. 7 - This Great City

Chapter 7 – This Great City

Fox slept with cold shivers coming over him from time to time. Good dreams turned into nightmares. He could see Krystal, he could hear Krystal, she was speaking to him gently, as she always had, "We're going to make it together." She whispered to him.

Fox could see where they were now, both of them resting under a tree, fatigued from running. Both breathing heavy as their piloting suits stuck close to their sweating bodies, "I'm scared…" Fox replied to her, "I'm so scared. I'm supposed to be this great leader, right? I just… I don't know…"

"But you don't have to be scared Fox, because I'm here with you, Fox." Krystal replied, placing her hand on his chest, "We've made it through worse than this." She said in an encouraging voice, but her shaking hands betrayed her. They were both afraid; resting under that tree during the heat of the day, in warmth, their R-Wings only a few miles off. If it were any other day than that day, it would have been a good day. It would have felt safe. Then that memory began to shift, Fox was outside himself as if watching a video – and he saw himself about to say something, but the dream was cut short. Fox was shaken violently from his slumber, causing him to jump from his makeshift bed onto his feet. He spun around with his hands up, causing Gage, the orange furred vixen who had woken him, to step back in shock.

'God! Calm down dude. I was just going to let you know we're going to get moving." She said holding her hands up. When Fox saw how much he had frightened Gage, he immediately dropped his guard.

"Sorry… sorry." Fox replied, not even bothering to look at her. He looked down at his backpack and jacket, what he was using as his pillow and blanket. He picked them up slowly, and let out a cold sigh, trying to stop his body from shaking any further. The dreams had plagued him for nights now, and they showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. It was as if Krystal's ghost haunted him.

"Bad dreams?" Gage asked, looking at him curiously, her hand now wavering over the pistol at her side.

"Y-yeah… something like that." Fox said, finally looking her way, and noticing her hand over the weapon, he couldn't help but smile at the novice move "You gonna draw on me or something?"

"Never can be too safe." Gage replied with a smirk.

"Right." Fox said with a nod, walking past Gage without saying anything more. He walked out of the building which he and the crew had hid in for the night, seeing that everyone had already waken before him. Zion gave Fox a nod as he saw him come out.

"Morning, it looked like you could use the rest, so I let you be. We had better hurry if you want your boy to survive." Zion said, pointing to Falco who had perched himself on a nearby crumbled walls. He was looking out into the city, watching for movement like he used to when Fox and he would work ground missions.

"How far away is the medical building?" Fox asked, adjusting his bag.

"Only a few minutes, I stopped us right outside its entrance, hoping to see if anyone was inside." Zion said, looking towards the buildings edge, a grey furred Reynard cutting the corner – one of Zion's vulpine, "Michael, how did the building look?"

"David's group is dead in the front." Michael answered, catching his breath slightly as he pulled off his bag and rummaged through it.

"Shit… you get their weapons?"

"Only this pistol. The rest of their gear was missing." Michael replied, tossing a gunpowder pistol to Zion, "Are we still going in there?" Michael asked.

"We should just let it be, Zion… they killed David." Olive, another of Zion's group, answered, looking to Fox nervously. The rest of the squad, including Zion, also looked to Fox, then to Falco.

"Listen, you two, and the rabbit. Listen up." Zion said plainly, walking towards them. Peppy, who had until this moment sat alongside Olive and Gage, stood slowly and walked over to Zion, "You people don't know this city, you don't know how hard people fight for a place in it. David's group was an OK group, we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but we agreed enough to keep out of each other's way. The man didn't die easy, he and his five people could've killed us off if they wanted." Zion shook his head, "Which means, whatever, or whoever is in that building got to him." He looked to Fox, "I'm not too inclined to risk my entire squad for your friend, Fox."

"I'm not asking you to." Fox replied looking to Peppy and Falco, "We can make it on our own."

"Did you not just hear what I said? These people will kill you before you even step foot in that place."

"You don't know who we are." Fox spat back, "You don't know what I've been through, what we've been through. I'm not just going to sit here and let my friend die, you understand? So I will take him there, even if it means I die trying." Fox was near shouting now, his words bitter and angry, it made Zion smirk.

"Spoken like someone with a death wish." He said calmly.

"Keep to your squad, give us our weapons back and we'll get out of your hair." Fox said, raising his hand, Zion crossed his arms.

"Well, here's the problem see, you only came in here with the pistol, if I remember. I'm just a little curious as to how you plan on breaching that building with one pistol." Zion's tone was not condescending, nor was it aggressive. He seemed truly amused and interested in Fox's plan. Peppy noticed this, and before Fox could interject with further anger, Peppy spoke up.

"You could use us, Zion." Peppy said, eyeing Fox, "You and your people, we've seen the way you move. You're good, you've learned to be good. But you're not great. We could teach you that, we were mercenaries. All of us, we were on the same team for years. We could teach you what we know about weapons, demolitions, combat. We could help you survive."

Zion let out a scoff, "Yeah? Prove it." He drew his pistol, and before he could point it to Fox's head, Fox's instinct took over. The pistol was out of Zion's hand in and Fox's, and Zion had been thrown to the ground, Fox charging his weapon and pointing it to his head.

"Proof enough?" He said, keeping the pistol drawn on Zion as Zion laughed with his hands raised. While Fox's display had indeed proved his ability, the pace at which he did the disarm, and the aggression of his throw, caused Zion's pack to draw their weapons, and eye Fox cautiously. Fox breathed heavy, and stared at Zion as if he was a Fanged. Somewhere in the display, a line had been crossed. While at first Zion was laughing, his face had now grown serious as Fox continued to stare with anger.

"Fox…" Peppy said calmly, slowly stepping towards him, "Fox… listen to me…" Fox's stance didn't sway, he kept the pistol trailed on Zion, and at this point, Zion began to look to his pack.

"Fox, put the pistol down man." Falco chimed in, walking to his side, "Put it down." Fox's eyes darted to him, and then at once, the pistol dropped to the floor. Falco put a hand on Fox's shoulder, "You good?"

"He's fine, he's fine. He's just been through a lot." Peppy reassured Zion, offering his hand. Zion eyed Fox cautiously, then took Peppy's hand. The rest of his squad dropped their weapons, and Fox stepped away from Zion.

"So, are you going to help us or not?" Fox asked shortly.

Zion paused for a moment, then spoke, "If we help you, then you all are part of our pack from this point on. No abandoning, no usurping. You follow my rules – whatever they are. Deal?" Zion asked, raising his hand to Fox, who took it without question. After that, Zion motioned Gage to give Falco back his pistol, and then the pack moved to the medical and to whatever waited for them.


	8. 8 - Becoming The Enemy

Chapter 8 – We Live, We Die, We Lie

A large wave of heat passed over Fox's head, but he dared not look up yet – the fire from the heavy machine gun would not be stopping anytime soon. Even he was surprised at the fortification found within the medical facility, and how quickly they had started their attack. Gage and Olive were the closest to him, but it was clear that only Olive had any wits about her in combat. When the firing would stop, she would pop her head out along with her rifle and discharge her weapon – but her shots were too wild to ever hope to hit something. It was more for her own sanity that she did it, to make her feel like she was fighting back.

Fox had not seen where Falco or Peppy had gone off to, nor had he seen where Zion and the rest of his little squadron went. Without any kind of communicator, he was in the dark. Even worse was the fact that he had no weapon to fight with, and so was forced to sit tight until the fighting was done. But Fox did not let things stay that way for long. A grenade was lobbed into Gage and Olive's cover, causing them both to jump in a panic. When Fox saw the small device hit the dusty ground, blinking a small red light, he immediately shouted for the two vixen to move – which they did, but only Olive moved fast enough.

The grenade erupted in a flash of gamma radiation so intense, that it caused Gage and her weapon to melt instantly. She didn't even have time to make a sound, she was simply there, and then she was gone. Olive, however, was quick enough to move out of the way, and received only a minor burn to her leg which remained exposed to the explosion – but now, her wits had all but left her. She began to panic, and turned to where Gage was.

"Gage, are you OK?" She said, her voice beginning to shake as she saw nothing more than a pile of ash where Gage was, "Oh god… oh… where's my gun?" She said weakly now beginning to stand above her cover.

"No, NO! Olive stay down!" Fox shouted at her, now moving from his cover as he saw Olive slowly begin to rise. Before her head could pop up over the vehicle she hid behind, Fox had tackled her to the floor. But Olive did not yell at him, or cry, she simply kept saying.

"I have to find my gun… where's my gun. God… I have to…" As Olive spoke, she began to cry more and more. The intensity of the battle had gotten to her, and so Fox leaned her p against the broken transport. He looked around, spotting Olive's rifle only a foot length's away, "Gage isn't ok, is she… oh god…" Olive continued as Fox used his foot to drag the rifle to a grabbing distance.

"Alright, listen to me!" Fox shouted at Olive, getting her to stop talking for a moment, "You're going to stay here, alright? I'm taking this rifle, and you're going to sit tight, right here."

"Gage is gone…" Olive said, in almost a dreamlike trance. Fox nodded slowly.

"A lot of people are, but if we want to keep your other friends alive, you're going to stay here and I'm going in there alone. Got it?" Fox saw Olive nod slowly, and then collapse onto the ground. He knew she wouldn't go anywhere, but he also knew that Zion's group would suffer the same fate if he did not act quickly. They were not fighting ragtag survivors. There was too much precision in the shots, and they acted too calmly. Fox's enemy must have been military, like him, and so he would have to kill them like military. He advanced through barrages of fire, happy to see the main gun's line of fire had moved away from him and towards another building, no doubt where Zion or Falco had set their counter fire against the medical building. It gave time Fox to plan, to set himself up properly. There were several artillery holes in the buildings side, which gave Fox a clear view of who he fought against. There were four individuals altogether, though their fire made them feel like ten. It was a military trick, and one easily implemented with working laser weapons – which the squad had. Their fire set out against Zion's team at such an alarming rate, that nearly all of them were pinned down. It caused the enemy to panic, to think that they were overmatched.

But they had forgotten to finish off Fox, who now looked down iron sites at all four of them. They had left their flank open in the midst of all the panic. No doubt thinking their enemy was simple-minded in their combat tactics. It would be their downfall.

It happened quickly thereafter, as soon as Fox held down his trigger and let rounds go. His first target were two vulpine handling the squad's larger machine gun, Fox's first volley sent several bullets through the main gunner's chest – and before the other had time to turn around, several more bullets had punctured his neck and head. All at once, the oppressive gunfire of the squad slowed significantly as the two remaining fighters began to turn their smaller carbines towards Fox.

To his relief, neither seemed to have a spot on him, and so when they went to reposition behind new cover, they only managed to exposed themselves even more; Fox had sent the squad into the fog of war, and now they would pay dearly. Without hesitation, Fox pulled the trigger again, firing off another volley which sent several rounds through one fighter's neck, chin, chest, and leg, and several more through the last fighters arm and shoulder. Both went down lifelessly, the fight was over. Fox came out of his firing position with rifle raised, eyeing the building to assure there were no others lying in wait. Thankfully, he made it into the medical building without any further conflict. He looked to the squad, finding three dead, and one wounded. The wounded Reynard, who now raised his hands weakly as he coughed up blood, spoke to Fox with great urgency.

"Please, please! Don't kill me… don't…" Fox kept his rifle trailed on him as the rest of Zion's group came into the building.

"Where's Olive?" Zion said, keeping his rifle also lined up with the survivor.

"She's fine, just shocked is all. Gage is dead." Fox said coldly, "Any on your side?"

"Michael… got popped while moving to new cover." Zion answered looking at the bleeding reynard, "Are you going to keep him alive?" As Zion spoke, Peppy, Falco and Jed followed behind, Fox looked to them – happy to see they were still alive.

"Let's not have any more bloodshed…" Peppy said in between heavy breathes, "We've lost some, he has lost all." He walked over to Fox and grabbed his rifle's barrel, lowering it as he stepped in front of Fox, "He's just like us…"

"We don't know that." Fox said, looking towards the buildings artillery holes to find Olive walking through them. He looked down at the survivor, "He doesn't have long anyhow." He walked over to Olive and handed her the rifle, and then walked out of the building.

"Where the hell is he going?" Zion asked, watching Fox leave their line of sight.

"He doesn't like killing, he's going to need some time alone. Does that often. It's nothing to be alarmed about." Peppy answered, walking over to the survivor and kneeling next to him.

"T-thank you…" The vulpine said weakly, a pool of blood steadily forming under him.

"What can we do to make things better for you?" Peppy asked, "What can I do?"

"We h-have… survivors…" The vulpine answered, raising a shaking hand towards a door, "I-I don't know… but you seem like good people. T-take care of them, like we were… take care…" The vulpine clearly wanted to say more, but cold death snatched him before he could. His body went limp, his eyes glazed over, and Peppy turned to Zion.

"More survivors. They were just trying to make it… like us." Peppy said standing slowly and looking to the room which the Reynard had been pointing to, "They're probably getting ready to run."

"No, did you hear him? They need protecting. Which means they're scared shitless right now. They're not running anywhere, and would only be a burden to us." Zion said, looking to Jed, "What do you think?"

"I don't really know… we could at least check it out." Jed answered with a shrug, his hands shaking beneath him. The adrenaline still not worn off from their recent losses.

"Well, you all do what you want with that. Peppy, I'm going to need your help with this amputation. Hopefully their manual machinery still works." Falco said, walking past Jed and Zion and making his way up a flight of stairs located behind the dead squad. Peppy followed in suit, looking to Zion for a moment.

"It's your call, pack leader." Peppy remarked with a slow nod, "But what you do now is going to determine whether or not you become a monster…" Nothing more was said, Peppy walked up the same flight of stairs as Falco, leaving Zion and his three survivors alone. They stared at the door which the squad member had pointed to with grimace.

"Shit…" Zion said shaking his head, "I know I'm going to regret this." He looked to Jed and gave a nod, "Keep on that door, you here? If anything pops out, don't be afraid to shoot it." Jed gave Zion a nod, and then Zion slowly moved towards the door with his rifle drawn. Seconds seemed like minutes as he finally reached the door handle, and tapped it slightly. The door opened automatically, revealing inside a dark room, "Hello!" Zion shouted, still keeping his rifle raised, "Is anyone in there?" There was a rustling, Zion was sure he had heard it. He looked to Jed, who nodded in agreement that he, too, had heard something.

"You come on out now, alright? We're not going to hurt you, just come on out!" Jed shouted into the room. Again, more rustling was heard, until, finally, there came out of the room two vixen – following behind them three young kits, two vixen and one a Reynard, all of them no older than 13. The older vixen's were short of breath, hands held high and eyes wide with fear. As soon as Zion saw them, he lowered his weapon and turned to Jed, who shared the same guilty, frightened look as he. Both knowing that things had grown even more complicated for them.


	9. 9 - We Live, We Die, We Lie

Slippy walked on for some time, unsure of where Malek and the others planned on going, where they planned on taking him. There were many nights when they stopped in some old, abandoned building, that Slippy thought they would leave him – or kill him. Strangely enough, it rarely crossed Slippy's mind that he might leave them. They did unspeakable things, Vincent and Malek. There were many times when they ran into helpless wanderers, they would pretend to be a friend, only to kill their unsuspecting victims, torture them, or rape them. They were dangerous serpents, and while Slippy pretended he was in control – he feared them both greatly. Still, for all his disgust, Slippy never tried to stop them, never tried to talk them out of their actions. He made whimpers here and there, to which Vincent and Malek would mock him over later. He would wake up to night terrors while they slept soundly, but he justified his ineptitude with the need to live. He always told himself that once he found a familiar face – they would make these two pay. But Slippy could not do it alone. Yes, that was why he wouldn't fight against them, this was his reasoning. It was all Slippy could do to keep himself alive and sane. So he walked with them for now, down a long road leading to a city's major outskirt, until Vincent held up his hand and kneeled down.

"What is it?" Malek asked, kneeling with Vincent.

"Up ahead, a band of survivors." Vincent hissed, he turned his head sideways and closed his eyes, "I hear them now."

"How many?"

"There's a lot of steps. At least around eight pairs of feet." Vincent answered looking to Malek, "It may be the opportunity we've been looking for." Malek laughed and shook his head, looking to Slippy.

"Be serpents in the ranks." He said with a coy smile, "It might do us some good to live in a place of stability for a while. Especially for the toad."

"Especially." Vincent agreed looking to Slippy, "You don't suit the road, do you Toad?"

"I c-can handle my own." Slippy weakly responded, afraid a wrong answer might cause them to turn on him. It had happened in the past, a word slipping, a hint of challenge in his voice – it had sent them over the edge in the past. It could now. So Slippy treaded lightly, and Malek and Vincent mocked him for it.

"I'm sure you can, mercenary." Vincent said, now moving slowly forward to a better position, until the camp of survivors was in view, "There it is." He said, pointing at a group resting near a building. All of them vulpine.

"I see at least twelve, they look battered." Malek said, not coming alongside Vincent, "Do you think they are trained?"

"I doubt it…" Vincent replied, watching intently, "I see no major weapons or armor about them. I do not think they would be able to find us out…"

"I hope so, what do you think toad?" Malek asked, turning to Slippy, who sat a much farther distance behind them, waiting for the two to make a decision.

"What, me?"

"You are the only slimy thing among us." Vincent answered, looking to him, "Please tell me you have some advice as a mercenary for us. Or I might have to find a better use for you." Vincent's words were half joking, only half. Both of them now stared at Slippy with a kind of aggravated grimace, a look which had been growing as it became clearer that he was, in reality, nothing more than dead weight to them. This Slippy was well aware of, and so he already knew what his answer would be. He needed to get into a bigger group – if only to escape these two. He needed a chance to break away from this unspoken prison, but his answer could not reveal that to these two serpents. If they sensed his true intentions, they would no doubt kill him.

"Speak up." Malek hissed annoyingly, turning back to the group.

"I think… us going would be a good thing… and opportunity for supplies." Slippy answered, attempting to act as if he couldn't care one way or another. It made Vincent smile.

"He acts like he is one of us. Like he only cares about supply." He muttered.

"I bet you he wants to get rid of us, he wants to escape." Malek chimed in, causing both to laugh.

"We'll do whatever you want, my best bet is with you two." At least for now, Slippy's reply was true – and this seemed to please the serpents enough. They both looked back to the group and watched for some time – eyeing any movements or supplies that might show the group to be too dangerous to approach. Malek and Vincent always looked for a group they could take advantage of, and they always did. They were a kind of poison born for this new world, Slippy knew this all too well now.

"I don't see anything, I think we should try it." Vincent said, looking to Malek, "What should we do to get their trust?"

"The stranded excuse never works, they ask too many questions about who we were with, what happened to them. Too much possibility to slip up the tongue." Malek replied, "What if we try the wanderer approach."

"It's ambiguous… but it worked better when we didn't have the toad. He's not good at keeping things general." Vincent answered, "No… we need something simple for him. Something which he can act in naturally. He'll never be able to hide how much he is disturbed."

"Yes… and no doubt his guilt might make him try to say something. Especially if they have kits with them."

"The kits always make him squirm."

"Always."

"We'll need to play off that, rather than hide it. He won't say anything. He never does." Vincent said, taking a moment to think. Then, after several minutes, he let out a small laugh while shaking his head, "I've got it."

"You do?" Malek replied with equal excitement.

"What if we let him just simmer in that? We'll pretend that we've been following a group who has done all the things we've done, and we escaped. Our poor toad is still disturbed by it." Vincent couldn't stop smiling as he looked at Slippy, who heard all and made no objections.

"That works for me." Malek said with a nod, "Can you play the part, I wonder?"

"Oh, I can. It was you I was worried about." Vincent spoke casually about his plot, and Malek followed in suit. The two simply rehearsing a method they have played out many times before. It wasn't long before they were moving towards the group, Slippy following behind, as Vincent and Malek went back and forth practicing their voices, persona's, and catchphrases. They reviewed their back-stories, where they originated from, and how they would respond to certain memories and questions. Once they were upon the group, Vincent and Malek had transformed into completely different people. Even going as far as to change the way they walked and their minor mannerisms. When they approached the group, the group acted like Slippy was used to. Those who first saw them jumped a little, and began shouting to the others, then there was a rushing about – and Vincent and Malek laughed beneath their breath. Eventually, when they were in ear shot – the typical warning was given.

"Stop where you are, don't take another step!" A reynard yelled at them, a pistol in his hand. Like clockwork, Vincent and Malek stopped, both raising their hands nervously – Slippy following their lead. "Good!" They Reynard yelled, "Now, lay face down on the ground, and we'll come to you." This part, however, was not in the regular cards. Most groups were nervous; most didn't know what to do next. This made Slippy nervous, but not for Vincent and Malek. When they began to meet adversity, their claws began to show quicker. They enjoyed the game, their cool would not be broken easily. They complied, lying on the ground, each still laughing and trying to hush the other – each still playing their game.

"Alright!" Another voice, a more commanding voice, said – getting closer with every single step, "Now, I don't know who you three are. I don't know what you three are capable of. But y'all will be getting a chance right here, right now." He voice's steps were in ear shot, and before he said anything else – the Reynard stood above them, waiting for a moment, inspecting them.

"M-may we look up?" Vincent said in his best, and most fearful voice. It seemed genuine, but it was apparently not convincing enough for the voice, who only laughed.

"Don't give me that bullshit. You three, stand up." The Reynard commanded, and the three responded – seeing before them a grey furred Reynard.

"We mean you no harm." Malek said, in an equally convincing voice, to which the Reynard replied again.

"I said cut the bullshit. You think I believe three timid stragglers made it through that feral wave? Cut the crap, act what you are. Playing the pity card won't get you anywhere here." The grey furred reynard's eyes were calm, but they searched the three quickly; for weapons, for hidden bombs or blunt objects. His eyes were ones of experience, and Slippy for the first time saw Vincent and Malek grow unnerved, "I'm Benton, and this here is what is left of my survivor camp. Now, you three are welcome to join us. I don't care who you are, I don't care where you came from or what you've done. Only one thing is important to me." He took a step forward, "You tow my line. You don't kill any of our kind, and you'll do alright."

"And if we don't?" Vincent asked, his little mask disappearing under the great pressure of Benton, who recognized when Vincent's acting had subsided.

"You die. I kill you." Benton said shortly, "Not my lackeys, not my people. Me. I kill you, because I run this show, and trust me when I say it." Benton's eyes never faltered, they stayed on the trio, "I will kill you if I have to." This was the first for the group. Clearly, Vincent and Malek had made a calculating error. If they had seen the group before the feral wave, they no doubt would have passed over them. Groups larger than thirty, according to Vincent and Malek, were always groups with strong leaders – and strong leaders were dangerous to play with, "If you want to walk away… now would be the time." Benton said shortly, waiting to see how the group would respond. Vincent and Malek looked to one another, and Slippy was certain they would turn the other way. He was so certain, in fact, that he himself began to turn around – but before he could commit to the motion, Vincent spoke up.

"We understand." He said plainly, and Malek responded with a simple nod. Slippy was unnerved, he couldn't see the angle. But he would dare not counter what his leaders had started, he simply watched Benton's reaction – which seemed calm. He let out a slow nod, then pointed to both Malek and Vincent's weapons.

"You want to take those in my camp?" He asked calmly.

"What would _you _want?" Vincent replied with a smile, a dangerous game. Slippy still could not see what Vincent was after. His façade had all but dropped. There wasn't an act any longer, and it left them exposed. Would Benedict have them killed, were they trying to instigate a fight?

"I want you to act as a functioning member of a wounded camp. You think you could manage that? I never did get your names, though… I doubt they would be real…" Benedict said, looking over to Slippy – catching the Starfox logo resting on his jacket. He gave a little nod of intrigue, "You all mercenaries?"

"We are, and to your first question. My name is Vincent, and this is Malek. The toad is Slippy, you must forgive us for being cautious and attempting to act, one can never be too safe these days." Vincent said with a slight bow, motioning Slippy to come forward, "What gave us away, I wonder." Benedict raised his pistol to the crest on Slippy's jacket.

"The Fox with wings, I've seen it before. On a bird, and a cat. Both of them were part of the same crew – apparently." Benedict let out a sigh, watching for Slippy's reaction. All he did was stare at the ground, "Not the reaction I anticipated. But I suppose things are hard these days… I know it doesn't mean much that I saw them alive."

"They still might be." Malek interjected with a smile. Benedict let out a scoff, which acted as both a kind of agreement and a kind of laugh at optimism.

"Come with me, I'll show you around. Just don't forget what I said." Benedict said, turning his back on the three. In that moment, Slippy waited for the serpents to react. He expected their pistols to rise up, for the leader to be shot. But nothing of the sort happened, they simply followed Benedict to his camp – resting at a well-made fire, eating what rations were offered, listening to Benedict's story. But Slippy knew the game was still afoot, especially when eyeing the restrained smiles of both Malek and Vincent.


	10. 10 - Looking Back On What We've Done

11 – Looking Back On What We've Done

Zion's team had little success with the survivors at first. They were afraid, defensive, and argumentative for the first few days; then nothing more than silent the first few weeks. They never did run, which Fox was certain they would – especially after they helped dig the graves of their protectors to bury them in, "We didn't know…" Peppy would always say to them, as if it could reassure them that the losses were anything but evil. They never did reply to him. The only thing one of the vixen's said at the makeshift funeral was this,

"One of them was my husband…" She spoke softly, her white furred kit, Neil, holding onto her shirts tassels as he watched with tears, "You have killed and buried my husband."

Fox never did attempt to make conversation with that vixen, but he did find out through word of mouth that her name was Rachel, and she was more timid of the two vixen. The other's name was Violet, and she handled the loss far more differently than Rachel. While at first she too was quiet, as the novelty of their relationship began to wear off, she grew loud and argumentative with Zion and with the group. For every decision, she had a counter decision, for every evening the group decided to sit back and get some relaxation, she would want to scout. Rachel assured Zion that Violet, "Has always been like this, and the fact that she's acting like this again means she's probably getting over the loss." Rachel said this one day when she accompanied Zion, Jed, and Fox on a scouting mission of the city.

"So she argued with your other protectors?" Zion asked, as the group slowly walked through an overgrowing park near the city's center. A safe area, so far as Zion knew.

"Even with my husband." Rachel replied softly, her replies were always soft – everything about her was soft. Even her physical build. It was quite evident to Fox that the vixen had seen little physical activity before the event, and still saw little activity now. No doubt her husband let her remain at camp, because with every step they took in the midday, her fur grew damp with her own sweat.

"As long as she keeps in line, she can have her arguments. We just to got stick together to survive, that's all." Zion answered.

"Well, just don't be surprised by it I guess it what I mean."

"Was she related to anyone?" Fox asked, catching Rachel by surprise. It caught Zion and Jed by surprise as well.

"In our group?" Rachel murmured, Fox gave a nod, "Well, no. None of the kits her are hers, and I don't think she was in a relationship with any of the protectors either. Least not that I know of. She was just there one day, and she started arguing with everyone…"

"So, sounds like she wasn't the most popular." Jed interjected with a laugh, causing Rachel to laugh uncomfortably.

"Well… yes. I mean, it's true." She confirmed, stopping when Zion stopped.

"What is it?" Fox asked. Zion turned to the group and smiled, pointing up to some trees. In it, rested a civilian cargo carrier, filled with what looked to be fresh clothes and packaged food. It was a joyous moment for the group, who climbed quickly and took what they could, then marked the place on their paper maps, and headed back to the group. The kits were excited by what was found, as was Peppy and Falco.

Within the weeks they had established themselves at the medical facility, Falco had stabilized as well – though his arm was no longer organic. The procedure took several days, and there was a time when Fox thought that Falco might have not pulled through. But with Peppy's help, he did. Like his legs, Falco's arm ran on artificial nerves and false blood. Thankfully, no electricity was needed, and even more lucky was the fact that it was Peppy himself who replaced the legs of all Starfox pilots. He was a master at false limbs, and it was he who had saved Falco's life. Not only that, but it was clear that Peppy's medical abilities had helped to secure Fox's crew among Zion's ranks, who now seemed more grateful than ever before for their help. All of them gathered around a table on the medical buildings main floor, and Zion began to distribute the newly found food among the people. Then Violet came from her cell, and before she said anything, the joyful atmosphere in the room already began to dim.

"What's all this?" She asked coldly, looking at the kits who sat in a corner eating greedily.

"We found a major food supply in the center park. We make a few more runs, we'll have a food supply for months!" Zion said, expecting this news to at least brighten Violet some.

"The kits won't have to go hungry." Rachel chimed in, causing Violet to glare at her.

"What if someone else was looking at that food? What if someone else was using it?" Violet shot, walking quickly over to the table, "You _really _think someone would just leave this stuff there?"

"If they were dead, yeah." Fox replied shortly, causing Violet to look at him. She let out a scoff and nodded slowly.

"Fine, just don't end up getting killed like our last protectors." Violet snapped, before grabbing a sealed meat entrée and leaving back to her personal room. It was a cold cut, and it caused the group to look to Rachel, who simply smiled to reassure them all, and walked over to her son – doing her best to act like everything was normal and good.

This was how things went in their camp for the next few weeks – until the group had found themselves camping within the medical building for roughly two months. Two months in which nothing major happened, in which no one died, and food was no longer scarce. It gave them all time to think, Fox especially. The nightmares and memories never did stop for him, and they only grew worse as things grew quite. So he kept busy in his work, volunteering first for scouting missions, always staying close to Zion so that he might be elected for any laboring tasks that were needed. Fox knew the others wanted him to rest. More than once, Zion asked Fox to "Take it easy and rest, after all, you've don't plenty for us." To which Fox always replied in short,

"It keeps me busy…" Then Fox would begin his work, and Zion did little to fight him. The scouting party generally consisted of Zion, Jed, and Fox. Zion. On those trips, Fox found Zion was in fact a very sharp and calm leader. Rarely did he ask for his people to do something he wouldn't himself do, and rarely would he send any on the front line without accompanying them. Better yet, it seemed that Zion held up well against the pains of loss – and Fox envied him for this. More than once they had started conversations as they walked the perimeters of their territory within the city, Zion sharing about his past experiences and where he had come from.

"Before this I had no military experience. I just liked to hunt, fish, and live outside…" Zion admitted with a slow nod, "Never in a million years did I think I would be leading a group like this… never in a million years. Course, I only really started taking this seriously when my wife died…" While Zion spoke, Fox was never sure if he was trying to get Fox to share his personal story of loss, or if he simply found it to be cathartic. In either case, it was clear to Fox that Zion had something he did not, a kind of freedom from burden which Fox couldn't describe. Zion's ramblings would, eventually, give Fox an invite to share about himself, with Zion leading into the question with something like, "So, what about you?" or, "Have you ever felt that way?" The majority of the time, Fox simply wouldn't reply, and Zion would simply nod and assure Fox that, "it was alright, take your time. These things are hard…"

This was the character of Zion, and Fox grew respect for him more and more each day. Jed, too, seemed like a fairly straightforward man. Though he rarely spoke, but it was not for the same reason as Fox. Jed had himself admitted that he was not, "A smart reynard, so I often keep thoughts to myself. Cause I might say something stupid…"

"That's more wisdom than most." Fox would reply, and he meant it truly. Needless to say, the two gave Fox a sense of stability and calmness that he had a hard time finding elsewhere, and working with them allowed his mind to calm down some. But it did not mean the nightmares would stop, and it didn't mean he was normal. But peace for a moment was still better than none. It wasn't until their second month within the medical building that Fox began to take notice of the kits more. Zion began to spend less time scouting, especially now that food was readily available. They had more time to better their living environment, and that meant more time with those who stayed at camp.

Violet was her usual self, elusive, isolated. But Fox admired how much Rachel took care of the little ones. Certainly, the fact that her son was regularly with the other kits inclined her to be a mother figure – but it was also evident that she went above what she needed to for those little vulpine to feel loved. Along with Neil, Rachel's son, there were two other kits, May and Jack. Jack was a boy filled with courage and hope – though he was still young in thought, and often showed it in his actions. Often, when the three kits played in front of the medical building, he would stand with both hands on his hips, looking out into the sun as if he were an adventurer.

"I am the hero!" He would shout to the others, then pointing to May, "You will be the vixen I save!"

"I am not! My Mom says not to play games like that!" May replied, looking to Rachel, "Right Mom?" Rachel, who often sat on a bench near their open play area, would smile and nod. Always gentle and kind.

"That's right, Jack, if her Mom said not to play those games, you shouldn't make her." Rachel answered, causing Jack to sit in frustration.

"I just want to play a game… I guess I'm too old for it now anyway." He said, now rubbing his hand in the dirt, "I'm going to be a scout soon though, I've talked to Zion about it and he said that I'm getting old enough."

"You're my mommy now…" May said, walking over to Rachel and holding onto her leg, "Right?"

"For now, but I'm sure you're real mommy still is out there and still loves you very much." Rachel answered. This was much like the conversations Rachel would have with the children daily, but this time, Fox was there. Sitting on a nearby ledge, looking out to assure the group was safe. Zion had officially issued him a spare rifle, though it was little to boast about. He sat armed on the Medical building wall, now paying more attention to the kits than anything else around himself.

"Mom, do you think I can be a scout like Jack?" Neil asked Rachel, eyeing Fox on the ledge.

"I don't think so honey, and I wouldn't be surprised if they make you wait a little longer Jack, it's a dangerous world out there now. You know that right?"

"I'm not afraid of a world, I can handle it. I'm really good with a gun." Jack said, holding his hand as if it were a pistol, "Look at how steady my grip is!"

"That's not a real gun!" May protested, stepping away from Rachel, "It is ten times harder to shoot a gun. A real gun, Jed told me so!"

"No! No look!" Jack dropped his hand and picked up a rock, "I can throw rocks good. I can aim good and I can throw rocks good, look!" Jack tossed the rock at a nearby building whose windows were still intact, to Fox's surprise, Jack hit one of them – and let out a triumphant roar, "You see!"

"Jack! Don't throw things at the buildings!" Rachel said hurriedly, standing from her bench to fetch him. He began to evade her in a playful manner, laughing while he did so.

"Jack stop playing around, Rachel wants you to stop!" May shouted, now stepping forward in some kind of attempt to stop Jack, "You need to stop!"

"May's right!" Fox shouted, dropping from his ledge before he himself knew what he was doing. It was the first time he had addressed the kits directly, and it caused all three to freeze.

"Fox… there's no need…" Rachel murmured nervously, afraid of what Fox might do. Fox gave her an assuring nod, easing her some. He looked to May and smiled, then walked over to Jack, throwing his rifle onto his back – his strap hugging against his shoulder.

"That was a pretty impressive shot." Fox said, picking up a rock and tossing it up and down, "But you should listen to Rachel, there's no telling what could be hiding in a building. What you might wake up." Jack looked to the ground in embarrassment.

"But all of you cleared the buildings right? So it's ok, I thought it would be ok…" Jack spoke softly, nervous that Fox might berate him. But Fox only placed his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"You never know what might sneak back into the buildings." Fox said, dropping the rock to the ground, "So we must always be careful, right?"

"Right… sorry Fox." Jack replied, only taking a moment to glance up at him. It surprised all, not only Rachel, by Fox's sudden outreach to the kits. None had expected him to be kind hearted, only Peppy and Falco knew this was far from the truth. In fact, Peppy began to encourage Fox to preoccupy himself with babysitting the kits more. To which Fox complied, especially as the time period between scouting missions increased for the moment.

It started with simply watching over them while Rachel handled the correction of the children, but in time, Fox eventually relieved Rachel to have some time alone, and Fox watched the kits while Zion and the others took watch. The kits were understandably nervous of Fox at first, who still kept his rifle on his back while he looked over them. They kept their distance, and were more than careful to follow the camp rules whenever he was present.

The first kit to truly open up to him was May. Who, on seemingly random impulse, came and sat by him.

"Is your real name Fox?" She asked him, her small claws scratching her blue fur. Fur as blue as Krystal's, something which did not go unnoticed to Fox.

"Yes, Fox McCloud." Fox answered, smiling at May – who simply looked to him curiously, "I see you have blue fur."

"Yeah, my mom says it's really rare, and that I'm special because of it." May said, raising an arm to show him the fur.

"It is. I knew someone who had blue fur." Fox said looking out to the other two kits.

"Was she your wife?" May asked, the question caused Fox to choke some.

"S-she… was going to be."Fox said with a gentle nod, "One day."

"Is she missing like my mom?"

"Yes."

"Then don't worry, Rachel says that all the missing people are out there – we just have to find them. So you'll find her." May said with an assuring nod, "Like I'm going to find my mom." Fox laughed some, doing his best not to let tears flow.

"You're right May."

"Fox McCloud is a stupid name, I'm not trying to be rude. I'm just saying." May said standing up from the bench, "But you're nicer than I thought you'd be, everyone said you weren't nice, but I know that's not true." Fox didn't attempt to speak, he simply smiled and gave a nod. May ran off to play with the other kits, and Fox sat and watched – finding in himself something he thought he'd lost forever.


End file.
